


The "Love Story" of the Civil War

by justpressX



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: G-Team - Freeform, HC S6, Hermitcraft: Civil War, Light Angst, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, STAR Team - Freeform, Songfic, Why tf is Doc and Mumbo called their real names I couldn't find their tags, for like three sentences, i tried okay, old writing don't judge LMAO, please take away my – privileges I used too many to cut off sentences last time, the other team members are only briefly mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:08:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29968242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justpressX/pseuds/justpressX
Summary: Tango and Impulse. On opposite sides of the war.(A songfic of Love Story, by Taylor Swift)
Relationships: impulseSV/Tango Tek (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	The "Love Story" of the Civil War

**Author's Note:**

> Excuse the not very accurate canon and odd pacing of the song; I wrote this a long time ago (back when I was on Wattpad), and realised that it was good enough to post in ao3
> 
> Also formatting's kicking my ass rn sorry if it's wonky

_We were both young when I first saw you  
I close my eyes and the flashback starts  
I'm standin' there  
On a balcony in summer air _

Tango leaned against the marble balcony, gazing down into the garden.

Lined by immaculately trimmed bushes and flowerpots bursting with colours, the Christmas party below was in full swing, though members of both teams made sure not to stray too close together. At opposite ends of the courtyard, Grian and Doc watched each other; wary but not outright hostile towards the other.

Having been unable to stand the tense atmosphere – though not directly stated, Tango had a feeling he and Impulse weren't allowed to talk – he had excused himself and headed indoors.

Stress and Iskall had been manning the bar in the house, mixing various drinks for the Hermits. There was a noticeable lack of Team STAR members, Tango observed, watching as Joe and Cleo played some convoluted game involving many dice and even more shouting.

Seeing Tango, Iskall waved and offered him another drink. Tango politely declined, tilting his half-full cup at them as he walked up the staircase and onto the balcony.

_See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns  
See you make your way through the crowd  
And say, "Hello"  
Little did I know _

Speaking of Impulse, a familiar brown-haired figure was hovering near the doors, sipping a red drink as he chatted with Zedaph.

As if feeling that he was being watched, he first turned to Grian, then Doc, and – seeing that they weren't looking at him – finally up towards the balconies. Spotting Tango, he gave him a small half-smile, raising his cup briefly in the other's direction.

After exchanging a few words with Zedaph, he headed into the house. Tango assumed he'd gone to get another drink.

His gaze wandered back to the two leaders. There was a definite tension between them; although they had been dragged from their corners by Iskall and Ren respectively, they still maintained a sort of awkwardness, occasionally sneaking glances at each other.

Tango watched the crowd below, resting an arm against the cool marble railing.

"Hello." Tango jumped, spinning around to face the intruder. "Uh, I'm sorry?" Impulse apologised hesitantly, eyeing the sword inches from his chest rather nervously.

"Oh–" Tango noticed he was pointing a sword at his friend and quickly lowered it, blushing furiously. "–sorry about that, you scared me. What are you doing here?"

In hindsight, he could have phrased it better, now Impulse would think he didn't want him here–

"Yeah, I can tell," Impulse teased, smiling easily at the other. Tango felt his heart plunge, soar, and do a backflip simultaneously.

"I just came here to say hello." He added, in answer to Tango's earlier question.

"Oh, uh– hello, then." Tango cringed at his own awkwardness, averting his gaze in embarrassment. Impulse laughed, throwing an arm around the blond.

_That you were Romeo, you were throwin' pebbles  
And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet"  
And I was cryin' on the staircase  
Beggin' you, "Please don't go," _

With Impulse by his side, the party was way more fun, Tango decided. As Cub and Scar chased the remaining guests out of the house, the two of them lingered at the doorway, not wanting to leave.

"The war's gonna start." Impulse said as a form of goodbye, slowly starting to head back to Team STAR's base, though not without a lingering glance at the other. Tango sighed, preparing to head in the other direction when–

"Tango." A commanding voice rang out behind him. Turning around, he saw Doc walking towards him.

"You," he began, glaring slightly at Tango, who gulped, fearing the worst.

"As Impulse said, the war's going to start. So I expect you to stay away." Doc's words were just short of threatening, ice lacing each syllable as a robotic eye stared him down.

Tango nodded hastily, making the creeper hybrid sigh and take off, flying away through the night sky.

Deep in their minds, both knew Tango wouldn't stay away.

_and I said:  
Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone  
I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run  
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess  
It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes" _

_So I sneak out to the garden to see you  
We keep quiet, 'cause we're dead if they knew  
So close your eyes  
Escape this town for a little while, oh oh _

The war had started, and with it, all the hermits involved sprung into action. Sections of bases were built. Weapons were purchased and constructed. Not one day passed without some sort of meeting for Tango; be it a G-Team strategy discussion; a meeting with Iskall to plan more redstone weaponry; or even an hour-long interrogation from Grian himself on his plan for their defences.

At night, Tango would have loved to just go to sleep, finally getting a rest, but, at midnight, he forced himself out of bed, tiptoeing across the room to not awaken his roommate. He snuck up the stairs, heading towards the balcony overlooking the battlefield. The grass was still burning, flames licking hungrily at the greenery. Tango longed to stamp them out.

He didn't try exiting by the main door; the pistons would surely rouse the others. Instead, he approached the balcony and quietly tossed an enderpearl, aiming directly for the small black bunker by the river, half-buried in the hill.

Landing with a soft thud in the light blue carpet, Tango made sure to avoid the door and pressure plate, not in the mood to fight a horde of angry vexes.

Soon a shadowed figure approached him, a hood thrown over their face. Waving at him, the figure pulled down the hood to reveal Impulse, who immediately rushed towards Tango, wrapping his arms around him tightly. Tango hugged back, slightly bemused.

"Are you okay? I'm so sorry I didn't meet you sooner– I saw the death message in the chat, but there was smoke everywhere, and I couldn't go find you, and Doc was yelling at Cub, and–" As soon as Impulse pulled away, he started talking rapidly, getting more and more agitated.

Oh, so it was about the battle. Impulse rambled on, clearly upset. He wrung his hands in distress, barely pausing for breath.

Not knowing what to do, Tango did what every cliché book or movie character did: kiss their love interest to shut them up.

Surprised, Impulse kissed back, gripping onto Tango's shoulders. They pulled away after a while and just stared at each other for a minute.

"Oh god, we're so screwed…"

Eventually, they settled into an easy routine; they would meet up once every two days and stargaze – or as Tango put it, Impulse showing off his astronomy knowledge. Impulse would show him the various constellations, and Tango would make some up, naming them ridiculous names.

Both pointedly avoided the topic of the war, preferring to escape its reality, even just for a few hours.

_'Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter  
And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet"  
But you were everything to me  
I was beggin' you, "Please don't go," _

He didn't see Impulse when Team STAR tried to infiltrate G-Team's base, much to his relief and disappointment.

After that, he was busy fixing the holes and passageways in the redstone, and still helping Iskall with the secret weapon. From the texts he received from the other, Impulse seemed to be busy too, leaving Tango to hope they could meet again soon.

Then Mumbo was exposed – what a surprise – and Doc took his moustache as payback for their terrible infiltration. That was the end of the matter, as far as Tango was concerned.

Surely that wouldn't get in his and Impulse's way. But a message from Impulse proved otherwise.

\---  
Private message:   
[impulseSV]: Doc's furious, he's not gonna let anyone else who tries to spy on us off that easily.  
[impulseSV]: You'd better be careful, love  
[TangoTek]: are you alright?  
[impulseSV]: For now. I don't think we can meet up anytime soon though  
[TangoTek]: but they won't know  
[impulseSV]: Someone will find out and he's going to KILL you!  
[TangoTek]: i'll be fineeeee  
[impulseSV]: No.  
[TangoTek]: you're joking  
[TangoTek]: Impulse?  
\---

_and I said:  
Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone  
I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run  
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess  
It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes" _

That night he went to their usual spot, convinced that he'd see his beloved there, but no one met him.

The stars felt further than usual without another person to trace the constellations with. Every small noise made him jump.

Eventually, Tango gave up and went back. He didn't return.

If that wasn't enough, a few days later, Team STAR dropped their diss track: Hermitgang. Tango thought it was actually rather cool, but a line from Impulse's verse refused to get out of his mind.

**'Tango, why would you betray me?'**

It was all in good fun, he told himself. All in good fun.

So, why did he feel so shattered?

_Romeo, save me, they're tryna tell me how to feel_  
_This love is difficult, but it's real_  
_Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess_  
_It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes"_

"So." Grian paced back and forth, looking at his teammates in the eye. "Mumbo's back."

From behind him, the moustachioed man waved at them, shifting on his feet. Iskall shuffled to the side of the couch to make space for the disgraced mole, who thanked them quietly and sat down.

"Well then, on to the next order of business!" Their leader proclaimed, coming to a stop before Tango.

"Tango, maybe don't talk to Impulse for a while, okay? Doc's kinda hostile lately, we can't lose another 'life'." His tone was polite, kind.

It would be so easy to just say yes. After all, Impulse wasn't even talking to him anymore. But be it the stress or the recent lack of sleep, Tango inexplicably found himself on his feet, glaring down at the considerably shorter person.

"I love him, you idiot! You do not tell me what to do. You're not the one who loves someone on the opposite side! Don't you dare think I forgot you started this entire war!"

Suddenly realising what he did – oh god, he shouted at Grian – he collapsed back into his seat, tears beginning to prick at his eyes. He blinked them away, willing himself to remain calm.

To his surprise, instead of yelling at him, Grian just bit his lip, eyes flicking around the room before finally giving him a stiff nod. "Just– don't get caught, okay?" he sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"And, well, sorry. Meeting over." Grian rushed out of the room, leaving the rest staring after him.

Tango didn't tell him he wasn't sure if Impulse would even look at him anyway.

One thing he knew for sure was, what they had? That was true love, and nothing, not a war, not a scary German creeper cyborg, nothing could stop them.

_Oh, oh  
I got tired of waiting  
Wonderin' if you were ever comin' around  
My faith in you was fading  
When I met you on the outskirts of town _

The next time he saw Impulse, the other was far off, head barely poking out of the ghast cannon. Tango caught his eye, and Impulse must not hate him that much, seeing as he nodded back and aimed away from him.

Ren and Doc died– apparently to pigmen? Great job Stress, Tango thought, still fighting his way to the aptly named STAR fort.

He wasn't there to get the flag, no no, their leader had that job. He was there to talk to Impulse. Which was why, instead of heading across the moat, he went to the twin ghast cannon towers, ducking under the ruined stone wall – courtesy of Grian – surrounding it.

Dodging a stray arrow, he pressed his back against the grey wall of the tower, making sure his entrance went undetected before chugging an invisibility potion, the glass bottle shattering on the ground as he tossed it away. Tango grabbed hold of one of the many stone pieces that jutted out of the structure and hauled himself up with a soft grunt.

And thus the climb began. Below him, clashing swords and dangerous sounding explosions rang out, and Tango swore he even heard a shattering end crystal. Wincing in sympathy, he rested a foot on a thin ledge, turning around to survey the place.

Not far off, Cleo and Jevin were doing an impressive job of keeping Impulse and Wels distracted; the two G-Team members dodged and weaved as deadly fireballs zoomed at them.

Tango felt his heart skip a beat when Jevin leapt directly in front of an incoming flame, only for him to hit it back at the flat of his sword, the orange blur zooming past Tango harmlessly.

Satisfied that his teammates on the battlefield were safe, he turned back to the tower, noticing that he was near the top. However, the near-invisible grey swirls around him were beginning to fade too, his arms slowly flickering into sight.

Redoubling his efforts, he threw an arm over the topmost ledge, legs kicking in the empty air before gripping onto a deep gouge in the stonework – left by Jevin, probably – and Tango climbed to his feet, an unattended fireball crashing into the cobblestone wall inches from his face.

"Woah woah, wouldn't want to kill me, would you?" He teased Impulse, who gaped at him from next to the ghast.

The other's face paled as if he'd seen a ghost, stuttering as he distractedly redirected a new fireball away from the other. Tango took it as a good sign, sitting on the ledge and smiling hopefully at the other.

Impulse didn't return his feelings, as it seems; drawing his sword and stepping towards him. They looked at each other, both not daring to make a move as Tango slowly drew his blade–

Only for Impulse to charge and tackle him, pushing him off the tower.

Thinking fast, he chucked an enderpearl over his shoulder, twisting in the air to watch as the deep green orb arced gracefully across the field, time seeming to stop as it froze in the air.

As it plunged to the ground, so did Tango, the colours blurring and mixing into one grey wall as the ground rushed up to meet him.

For a moment, all he could feel was the rush of air, then, with a pop that echoed way too loudly in his mind, he found himself on flat ground, the world still purple and spinning.

Resting his head against a black wall – was that Concorp's shop? – he barely got a second to gather himself before purple particles bloomed before him, dissipating to reveal Impulse, still clutching his iron sword.

_And I said:  
Romeo, save me, I've been feeling so alone  
I keep waiting for you, but you never come  
Is this in my head? I don't know what to think  
He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said: _

Ignoring the threat of death at his lover's hands, Tango spun in a circle, examining the place. "We've come full circle, huh?" he asked, not even bothering to draw his sword.

Not getting an answer to his question, he pressed on, "Why fight me, Impulse? I don't want to– no, I _can't_ hurt you,"

Impulse seemed to hesitate at his words, conflicted as he searched his face for any sign that he was lying. Biting his lip, his hands tightened on the hilt of his sword, lifting it and making a half-hearted swing at the other.

Sighing in defeat, Tango raised his sword to parry, shuffling to the right and faking an attack. The two of them circled each other, both watching the other closely.

Their blades met, iron chips flying as they separated and resumed their dance around the other, neither really inclined to attack.

Impulse was the first to move, stepping forward and slashing at Tango, who jumped back nimbly and jabbed at the Team STAR member in retaliation.

"I don't want to fight either," Impulse admitted, but still swiping his blade at the blond's legs.

Tango wanted to scream. Why fight then?

"But we have to. I have to." Impulse continued, mostly to himself, as he unconsciously lowered his weapon.

"Grian will be back with the flag soon." Tango blurted out, using the opportunity to gently remove the sword from Impulse's hands.

Impulse glanced up, disbelief on his face. "Really?" He whispered, voice barely able to be heard over the roar of battle.

"Really?" Impulse repeated, eyes shining.

_"Marry me, Juliet  
You'll never have to be alone  
I love you and that's all I really know  
I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress _

[Grian]: FLAG CAPTUEDE

Speak of the devil.

The chat was instantly flooded with congratulations and 'gg's, Tango pulling out his communicator – thankfully intact – to send a quick message as well.

_It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes"_

When he looked up, Impulse was staring at him, a worried and thoughtful look on his face. Before Tango had the chance to tell him to just say out whatever he had to say, Impulse grabbed his hands, stepping forward.

His eyes darted around, avoiding the other's eyes as his cheeks darkened, blush spreading rapidly.

"So, like– Tango. Like you– and– and the war. We were– uh… Basically, I want to know if you'll be my boyfriend?" He stuttered, stumbling over his words. As if just realising how close they were, Impulse took a step back, still unable to look Tango in the eye.

"It'sokayifyoudon'tfeelthesamewaywecanstillbefriends-"

Tango didn't respond, simply pulling him in for a kiss.

 _Oh, oh, oh_  
_Oh, oh, oh, oh  
'Cause we were both young when I first saw you _


End file.
